Oceanside to demolish pedestrian bridge over Mission Avenue

OCEANSIDE —— By this time next week, the concrete and steel
pedestrian bridge that crosses Mission Avenue near Carey Road will
be gone after workers demolish the structure overnight on
Tuesday.

That means pedestrians crossing at that intersection will now
have to wait at the stop light —— a big change in particular for
droves of Jefferson Middle and Mission Elementary students and
parents who relied on the bridge when school is in session.

Gary Kellison, a senior civil engineer working for the city,
said the structure, built more than 30 years ago, was not in
compliance with current earthquake-safety standards. A city
official said last year that bringing the bridge up to date would
have cost the city around $1 million.

The City Council decided earlier this year to raze the bridge,
after workers installed a traffic light at the intersection of
Carey Road and Mission Avenue. The job will cost the city $115,000,
he said.

The demolition work will begin after 9 p.m. on Tuesday and
should be completed by 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. The city is
scheduled to close a stretch of Mission Avenue, from Canyon Drive
to Carey Road, during that time.

Residents of the neighborhoods close to the bridge should expect
to hear large cranes and trucks throughout the evening, according
to a notice mailed to homes in the area.

When the work is all done, Oceanside Unified School District
officials could be smiling.

Officials have said that while most students use the bridge,
several daredevils still dart across speedy Mission Avenue as the
quickest way to the bus stop. A crosswalk and traffic signal, which
will halt Mission Avenue drivers while students walk across, is the
safer way to cross the street, officials said.

Jefferson Middle Principal Duane Coleman said he and other
campus officials began informing parents and students last year
that the bridge would be gone by the start of the new school year
on Aug. 29.

After city workers installed the traffic signals last year,
Coleman said students were urged to use the crosswalk instead of
the bridge.

"I think everything will be fine and safe," he said. "We have
enough campus supervision to help make sure students cross (Mission
Avenue) at the intersection."

The city originally installed the signal to ease traffic in the
small neighborhood off Mission Avenue that houses Jefferson Middle.
The streets there are often clogged with lines of cars driven by
parents dropping off or picking up their children and then having
to wait for traffic to clear on Mission Avenue to exit the
neighborhood.